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User blog:WayfinderOwl/BTM: Free Wedgie Included 7
A Lucrative Proposition Time past at Bullworth. The leaves went brown, shriveling up on the branches. Slowly falling little by little to the ground. Some changes had happened. The condemned Bullies hideout in the In-and-Out Motel became emptier. The more emptier it became, the fuller the cashbox of our earnings became. School politics on the other hand were all abuzz about the clash of the class president between Ted Thompson and Earnest Jones. Two guesses who won that fight. They competed every year apparently, and it always ended the same way. Even if the Jocks hadn’t chosen to egg him during the speech, Earnest still would have only gotten the Nerd vote. Ted on the other hand needed no speech, he just walked on stage, ran his fingers through his hair. Announced he was the king, why not add president to it? On the way off the stage made sure the girls voted for him, by pulling up his t-shirt to reveal his abs. That was it. Most of the student body voted for him. Any class president was better than having to deal with Earnest Jones whenever anyone had any concerns—not that it would have made any difference. Those things were just popularity contests anyway. Having sold the last box full of clothes to Worn In, Pete and I decided to stick around to find something for Halloween. Pete’s clown costume was coming along nicely. Wade went to the carnival every day, to meet up with a girl he had a huge crush on. When he came back, he had a hand full of tickets to share. I on the other hand, had not the faintest idea what I should go as. Out of the entire stock of clothes, going as a hobo seemed the obvious choice. At the bottom of a bin marked hats half price, I found a slightly frayed black top hat, and suddenly felt inspired. “Hey, Pete, what if I went as the mad hatter?” I said. “As long as I don’t have to go as a white rabbit, that would be cool.” Pete searched the rails, looking for a white vest. He mentioned to me an hour before, that he felt a white vest would complete his costume. The makeup was already taken care of. For hours he practiced in my room, putting on the white paint. Practicing what expressions he should go for. By far the best was a scowl. Pete, the scowling clown. The notion amused me. No more than myself being the mad hatter. Not that many kids in this school would even know who I am dressed as. “Do you know what Russell is planning?” asked Pete. “Not a single idea,” I replied, looking through a rail of coats. “If there is even a plan. Wade has an idea that we all wear masks of Edna.” “That sucks. Who are they going to get to make them, I wonder?” “Who knows,” I replied, shrugging. I found a particularly tacky paisley ascot, that anyone would have to be insane to wear. The perfect accessory for my costume. Someone on the other side took it. I stumbled, moving two ugly coats aside. Climbed through, finding myself more or less face-to-face with Beatrice. In her arms she clutched a blue dress with slightly puffy sleeves. “I’m sorry, where you reaching for this?” asked Beatrice. I nodded. “Yeah, but I can find something else.” Beatrice’s brown eyed gaze drifted from the frayed top hat, to the coats on the rail. “Going as the mad hatter?” I nodded, pointing at the blue dress. “Going as Alice?” “I am. Seems we match.” She released her grip from the ascot. Silence lingered between us for a few moments. “Well, anyway, see you in class.” Beatrice turned away, shuffling along towards the shoes. I searched the store, leaving only when I had assembled the most fitting costume. Worn In never seemed like the place to sell waist coats, shirts or fancy gloves. All of them were a little frayed or worse for wear, but that added to the feel of what I wanted. Leaving getting my costume to the last minute was probably a dumb move, but it was worth it. We walked to the bus stop. The most direct route around Bullworth, to just about anywhere. As long as it were in the town borders. I always found that a little strange that no one really left. After the school year begun, no one seemed to come to visit either. The yellow school bus pulled up. We entered the bus and found a seat somewhere near the front. “My costume is still missing something,” I muttered. “It is fine,” Pete told me. “Yeah, but there is still something missing.” “Like what?” “I dunno. A pocket watch or something.” “Only place to get that is Aquaberry.” “And cost a lot of money,” I added. “Well, still worth a look.” “I can’t come with. The face paint takes ages to put on.” “Alright, man. No grudges.” ^^^^ The shopping plaza in Old Bullworth Vale was exquisite. Almost like a world of its own. Nothing like the dirty streets of New Coventry, or the mix of dingy alley and clean street of Bullworth Town. Fine buildings and intricate pavements. Flower boxes in the windows above the stores or dangling from the street lamps. Even the air tasted sweeter. People milled around, weighed down with bags. Talking about superficial things. Condescension and manners somehow seemed to go hand in hand. A far world away from the bum’s rush of anywhere else in Bullworth. I pushed open the glass door to Aquaberry, and went unnoticed. Not even the sales clerk gave me a glance of acknowledgement. All of the staff were otherwise occupied, fluttering around Derby Harrington, while he made many extraordinary purchases. All he had to do was point, and not only did they fetch the item of clothing for him, but tailored it to make sure it fit to his liking then gift wrapped it. I stayed near the counter looking at watches through the glass display case. All went quiet. Derby raised his hands, and parted the crowd like Moses parting the red sea. “That shall be all for today,” Derby announced. “Very good, Mr. Harrington,” the clerk replied. “I will have it all charged to your father’s credit card as we agreed.” Derby turned his head to face me. His gaze tracing my own towards a golden pocket watch, with a 9 carat gold chain. His finger tapped the glass. “And that watch.” I looked up at Derby with disbelief. He really did think he was above everyone. The store clerk fetched the watch from the glass cabinet, and placed it with care in a black box. Derby snatched the box away, before it could be added to the many other purchases. “Josh Hyde?” asked Derby. I nodded. “Good. Walk with me.” I followed Derby out of the store, disappointed that I hadn’t the chance to buy the watch before he could get his over pampered hands on it. “I have heard all about you, Josh,” Derby told me, the moment we were out in the plaza. The shop assistants followed us out. “Oh, really?” “Indeed. The whole school is talking about you. How you seemingly came from nowhere. Won the respect of Russell on your first day. In the last month amassed yourself a fortune selling Grottos and Gremlins junk, and other sundries.” “Yeah, so. Nothing in the school rules against making a little money.” “Quite right,” Derby agreed, walking down the plaza steps towards the road. “Once I heard of your aptitude for business, I remembered a family also named Hyde, who resided in my father’s home in Alderney.” That was true. My parents did rent a place in Alderney. One of the few places they went semi-legit. They pretended to be loaded. Acquiring all the necessary documents to claim they owned some off shore company. Sometime during the month, they would turn the place over. Hiring some thug to tie the three of us up once they had cleaned out the whole house, to make it look like a robbery. Dad sold all the merchandise. The landlord replaced everything. With the money they got, they could pay the rent and have a whole lot extra to keep up the charade. They kept the scam going for nearly a year, until they paid the wrong guy. A mobster, who really did rob the place. We had to flee to Blaine County, to get away from the heat that came with it. “I did live in Alderney for a while,” I admitted. “Just as I thought. You are a climber, Josh. All you need is the right person to teach you how to harness your gift. In a few years, there is no knowing where your future may lead with the right resources. You may even find yourself in my position.” “What are you saying?” We came to a stop near a black stretch limo. The license plate read “DERBY.” The driver got out and opened the door. All of the shop assistants placed the bags inside, and hurried off back to Aquaberry. “I am saying,” Derby replied. “You are wasting your potential with Russell and those Neanderthals. Come to Harrington House in a week, and tell me your decision. If you choose the right choice, you will be my protégé. In all your time here in Bullworth, you will want for nothing. All the doors will be opened to you, as if you were in fact a Harrington.” “Why me? Look, Derby, I’m not blue blood like you. I’m just some kid, who was a meal ticket to his parents. Got dumped here, and got lucky selling a bunch of stuff cluttering up a room. Why would you offer someone like me such a life changing position?” Derby placed the black box containing the pocket watch in my trembling hand. “Upon my graduation, this clique falls in the hands of a nouveau riche, who is hungry for power. This way, it is a nouveau riche I approve of.” Derby climbed into the back of the limo. His parting words to me were, “Think long and hard. I will not repeat my offer ever again, once the week expires.” The driver shut the door. I was left standing there on the curb, open mouthed, holding a Worn In shopping bag in one hand, and the box containing the most expensive thing I had ever owned in the other. Where was Pete to pinch me, when I needed it most? In that moment, making the choice seemed the hardest thing to do. I need time to clear my head. Down the steps to the theatre, along the pier, and down onto the idyllic beach. Being a Bully was never my goals when I came to this school. Becoming part of Russell’s gang was more an obligation than a choice. Given the choice between preying on the weak and hanging out with Pete, my friend won every time. Russell had been good to me. Treating me like a brother and a friend. To throw all that away for a brighter future was a pretty shitty thing to do, but staying with the Bullies my future was a bleak prospect. At best I could look forward to is becoming just like my parents. Sat on the sands, I asked the lake, “What do I do?” Category:Blog posts Category:WayfinderOwl's Fanfiction